


Jealousy

by notoriously



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff, Getting Together, Jealous Connor, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-26
Updated: 2019-01-26
Packaged: 2019-10-16 13:25:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17550533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notoriously/pseuds/notoriously
Summary: Connor doesn’t like this feeling. Not at all.He’s discovered many new feelings since becoming deviant, and while they had all been ultimately confusing and confronting initially, none had been quite this consistently unpleasant. As he sat on the couch though, one hand absent-mindedly but rather insistently patting the Saint Bernard leaned against him, he felt it most acutely.Jealousy was, as humans said, a bitch.





	Jealousy

Connor doesn’t like this feeling. Not at all.

He’s discovered many new feelings since becoming deviant, and while they had all been ultimately confusing and confronting initially, none had been quite this consistently unpleasant. As he sat on the couch though, one hand absent-mindedly but rather insistently patting the Saint Bernard leaned against him, he felt it most acutely.

Jealousy was, as humans said, a _bitch._

It had all started with a woman standing at Hank’s desk. The woman, he ascertained, was named Jennifer Martin, and Connor immediately took a dislike to her. He didn’t know _why_ as such – there was nothing in her records that he could access that sent up warning signs. Nonetheless, she just rubbed him the wrong way.

The fact that she seemed to get along with Hank so well had nothing to do with it, right?

_Right?_

Jennifer seemed perfectly kind and charismatic, especially in the way that she spoke to Hank. The way that Hank responded to her _definitely_ had nothing to do with the way Connor was feeling about her. Hank, usually ever the misanthrope, smiled and even _laughed_ at things that Jennifer said. But it was fine. Connor wasn’t going to interrupt and –

‘Hello, I’m Connor.’

Well, so much for not interrupting. He’d barely gotten used to not introducing himself as the android sent by CyberLife – Hank would chide him for it, saying that Connor was his own person now, and then correcting himself to say that Connor always had been. Before Connor had time to really reminisce about how much better his partner had gotten with his android status, Jennifer turned around to the desk in front of Hank’s and gave a wide smile, holding out her hand.

‘Well, hello, Connor. I’m Jennifer,’ she said, politely. Hank glanced over at Connor for a moment before clearing his throat.

‘And Connor has work to do. So do I, really. Sorry, Jen,’ he remarked, and Connor blinked at the nickname. ‘But I’ll see you tonight?’

‘Of course, hon. See you then.’ Connor could swear he saw Jennifer wink at Hank as she left their desks, and it didn’t help the feeling that was clawing at his thirium pump. Connor was obviously staring at Hank as the older man’s face contorted into a confused and slightly disgruntled expression.

‘What’re you starin’ at, Connor? Somethin’ on my face?’

‘No, Lieutenant,’ Connor replied, quickly glancing back down at the computer terminal at his desk. ‘Jennifer seems… nice.’ The pause in his sentence wasn’t missed by Connor or Hank – Connor wondered briefly why on Earth he’d hesitated, but Hank’s reaction wasn’t quite as internal. He leaned forward at his desk, raising an eyebrow.

‘Why’d you say it like that?’ Hank asked, quizzically. Connor internally chided himself but managed not to show it on his face, by some miracle and a half.

‘Say it like what?’

‘Like,’ and Hank took a moment to put on his best Connor impression, which wasn’t very good, ‘ _she seems… nice._ You paused.’

‘I can assure you, I did not intend to.’

And for once in his fifty-three years of life, Hank dropped it. He looked back at his own computer.

‘She is nice. She went to school with Fowler and I,’ was all Hank said. It was honestly more than Connor was expecting to hear Hank explain, but god knows that he couldn’t quit while he was ahead.

‘And you are seeing her tonight?’ he asked. Hank blinked at his screen and raised an eyebrow.

‘Great, you have ears. Or an audio-input-what’s-its-name,’

‘Auditory processor, yes – ‘

‘Yeah, yeah, _that,_ ’ Hank insisted with a huff. ‘Yes, I’m seeing her tonight. Is that okay with you?’ he asked, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

‘Yes, I suppose that would be fine.’

‘I wasn’t really asking.’

‘I was joking too,’ Connor remarked, swallowing thickly. That is, after all, what humans did when they found themselves in situations like the one Connor had found himself in. He felt… _something._ He felt awkward and out of place, something he hadn’t felt around Hank for a long time. Certainly not since moving in with him, which had mainly been due to Connor’s repeated and constant insistence that Hank could really use a roommate.

‘Oh, right,’ Hank replied, and now he was pausing too. ‘Sorry.’

‘No need to apologise,’ Connor replied, and the two went back to working in relative silence.

For about five minutes, that is.

‘Would you classify this as a date that you and Jennifer are going on, Lieutenant?’

‘Jesus, Connor,’ Hank shot back, ‘you don’t have to know the ins and outs of _everything_ I do, do ya?’

‘I was only making conversation.’ If neither Hank nor Connor knew any better, they’d both say that Connor sounded a little forlorn. Hank huffed, glancing between Connor and his screen before replying.

‘I don’t know what it is. Jen and I go way back, so… there’s history.’

‘Sexual history?’

‘Connor, _Christ,_ I give you a fuckin’ inch… _that_ is none of your business. Especially not at work.’ The absence of a _no_ made this new feeling Connor had grow even stronger in the pit of his stomach. Or rather, where his stomach would be if he had one, of course. Expressions were coming more easily to him these days, but they were largely human-centric. Usually Connor didn’t mind, mainly because they made Hank more comfortable, generally speaking. Ears as opposed to auditory processor, heart as opposed to thirium pump, that kind of thing. Right now, though, Connor was focused on making himself less uncomfortable as opposed to making Hank comfortable, so he decided the best course of action was to stop asking questions. It wasn’t in his nature to stop asking questions, but this new feeling wasn’t natural either. It was twisted and spiteful and _wrong,_ very wrong.

‘Apologies, Lieutenant,’ was all Connor said before going back to his work dutifully. That was almost all of the conversation they had that day, which was going to make the car ride home a relatively awkward one. In a relatively strange turn of events, it was Hank that broke the silence when they were on the road.

‘… You alright, Connor? You were pretty quiet today,’ he said.

‘Of course, Hank,’ he replied, lips pursed slightly as his eyes focused on the road ahead. Hank sighed small.

‘No, you’re not,’ Hank replied. Connor blinked and looked to Hank, frowning small.

‘I said that I was alright,’ Connor retorted quickly. Hank rolled his eyes but kept them trained on the road.

‘Yeah, and I’m saying you’re not,’ Hank bit back, and it was a moment before his eyes widened slightly, still trained on the road. ‘… This doesn’t have anything to do with me goin’ out tonight, does it?’

‘Of course not,’ Connor replied instantly. Hank wasn’t buying this shit, not for a second.

‘Really? ‘Cause it’s only since Jen came around that you’ve been all quiet and sulky.’

‘Sulky?’ Connor asked, almost scandalised at the notion that he, the most mature person in the room at any given time, was being _sulky._

‘Yeah, _sulky._ Come on, you’re not _jealous,_ are you?’ Hank asked, almost teasing in his tone.

Connor blinked. Ran some silent searches on jealousy and its causes – of course he _knew_ what jealousy was, but he wasn’t sure about it in his own context. Until now, that was. And oh boy, was he feeling jealousy right there and then.

‘No,’ he lied, quickly, and stayed firm as Hank raised an eyebrow.

‘Okay, fine, sorry I asked,’ Hank replied, and he completed the rest of the drive sitting in silence across from a spectacularly sulky android.

Connor was so sulky that he barely greeted Sumo as they entered the house, though even his newly named jealousy couldn’t stop him from sinking his hand briefly into the fur along Sumo’s back as he walked past and sunk into the couch. Hank gave him a quick glance before setting down his things.

‘Alright, I’m gonna freshen up,’ said Hank. Connor didn’t bat an eyelid, and he felt acutely that he wanted to cross his arms defiantly and pout. That would, however, give away entirely that he was jealous, and so he decided instead on replying.

‘Not a problem,’ he said, and it didn’t seem to set off too many alarm bells for Hank as he just went off about his business. Connor was glad for the alone time, and he loosened off his tie as he slumped back onto the couch, Sumo joining him after just a moment. And that’s where he stayed as Hank got ready. He came out dressed relatively smartly, and Connor finally turned his head from where he’d sat static to glance him up and down. Hank instinctively stood still, holding his arms out and allowing Connor to survey him.

‘Look okay?’ he asked, and Connor nodded.

‘Lovely.’

‘That’s layin’ it on thick, but thanks.’

Connor blinked and his LED flashed a quick yellow as he realised just what he had said. Hank didn’t seem to notice, or at least if he did, he didn’t say anything.

‘I’ll be back later on, alright? Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,’ Hank remarked, picking up his keys and heading over to the couch. ‘You be good too, Sumo.’ He reached down to pat the dog who leant his huge head into it readily. When his owner pulled away, he gave a small whine, but Hank was immune to such charms these days.

‘See you later, Hank,’ Connor said, and Hank gave a small wave before heading for the door, leaving Connor on the couch.

And there Connor stayed. He was sure if Hank could see him now, he’d say that he was still being sulky. And from all he’d researched on jealousy, it was a perfectly normal reaction, thank you very much. For all it was normal, it didn’t feel right. When Connor didn’t feel right about something, he settled back into old routines – he became precise and analytical.

It was time to work out just why he was feeling so jealous.

Jealousy, he had learnt, was brought on by the sense of a threat to a valued relationship from a third party. Well, it was obvious, then. That valued relationship was his friendship with Hank, and the perceived threat was Jennifer. Simple, right?

Connor knew it wasn’t that simple. Because people _had_ more than one friend. Hell, _he_ had more than one friend. There was something far more complicated at play, and he had another new and terrible feeling that he already knew what it was.

Ever since he had met Hank, there was something transfixing about the man. Something that destabilised his software so easily, so swiftly that he was always sure about the main trigger for his deviancy. Hank wasn’t just his friend, he was his _best friend –_ no, even that wasn’t letting Connor put his finger to the pulse of the predicament. It wasn’t about friendship anymore, it had evolved into something more. Something more _primal,_ something that Connor was almost too ashamed to even put into thoughts, let alone words.

It was an _attraction._

It wasn’t that Connor was ashamed of Hank, not at all. He was proud to stand beside Hank as his partner, as his friend, as his… _anything,_ really. It was the fact that these new feelings made him feel as if someone had ripped out his thirium pump regulator and stomped on it. He was embarrassed at how quickly these feelings had him feeling jealous of this new woman – this new woman who Hank was potentially on a date with there and then, at that very moment –

See, there he went again!

Everything fell into place once Connor admitted to himself that he was attracted to Hank. The jealousy made total sense if Connor had something of a _crush_ on Hank, didn’t it? Of course it did. And that? Well, that only made Connor sulk even harder. Because the man he was attracted to was out on a might-be-a-date with another person, and Connor felt most acutely that he should be here, with Connor…

Doing what?

Doing… _oh, no._

It was as if a padlock securing Connor’s deepest, darkest desires had just been cracked in his mind. He wanted Hank here to hug him, to kiss him, to put his hands all over him and –

 _Oh no,_ this was a disaster.

He could never show his face to Hank again. He could feel himself overheating, his cheeks tinging the slightest blue as he brought his hands up to his face, sinking into them. Connor felt that this feeling had to be worse than jealousy. The feeling of desire, the feeling of unbridled want that kept invading his systems despite his trying to stop it.

Connor needed to cool off, literally and metaphorically. His systems were _literally_ overheating at the thought of what he wanted from Hank and that might have been the most embarrassing part of it all. He thought humans were funny the way their bodies betrayed them in certain situations, but it was far less funny being on the other side of it.

Well, if his body was going to act so human, he would find out the ways in which humans dealt with these sorts of feelings. He conducted a quick search and – _oh my word._

He was _not_ going to do that. He _couldn’t_ do that, not with his current lack of attachments. Though that could be rectified – _no, Connor, don’t even think about that._ He’d have to just run his cooling protocols like he usually would in the event of an overheat and that would have to do.

For now, anyway.

* * *

‘And that’s where I’m at, for now anyway.’ Jennifer finished up her little spiel about her life since seeing Hank last and smiled, taking a sip of her drink.

‘Well, certainly more impressive than this old asshole,’ Hank replied, taking a swig of his own drink. Jennifer smirked and shook her head.

‘You’ve done plenty of impressive things, you old asshole,’ she nudged him with her foot under the table and he sighed, swirling the ice around his glass.

‘Yeah, yeah.’

‘Seriously, Hank. All things considered…’ Her eyebrows dip and Hank’s do too.

‘Yeah,’ he replies with a small huff of air. They had talked about some heavy things in the time they’d been out. Jennifer and Hank had lost contact before Cole was even born, let alone before he died. They talked about their failed relationships, Hank’s with his ex-wife and Jennifer’s with a string of boyfriends and partners she’d had over the years. All in all, their lives hadn’t been all sunshine and rainbows, but Jennifer had probably been dealt slightly better cards than Hank had.

‘Alright, come on, time to stop being sad sacks. Let’s talk about that hottie partner of yours, huh?’ Jennifer asked, waggling her eyebrows. Hank blinked at her before raising an eyebrow of his own.

‘ _Hottie,_ what are we, seventeen?’ he asked.

‘Oh, come on, Hank. He’s cute,’ she replied.

‘I’m not gonna sit here and –‘

‘And admit you have a thing for him? ‘Cause that’s pretty clear.’

Hank nearly choked on his drink, and Jennifer laughed.

‘What the _fuck_ are you talkin’ about?’ Hank asked, in the world’s most defensive tone.

‘Come on, you were making eyes at him the whole time I was at the precinct. And he seems to be the only thing that makes you smile, apart from that dog of yours.’

‘Connor doesn’t _make me smile,_ ’ Hank replied, accusatorily. Jennifer propped her head up on her hand and raised an eyebrow. They let the pause hang in the air for a long while before Hank insisted again. ‘He’s just a _friend._ ’

‘A friend you’ve got the hots for,’ Jennifer added. Hank rolled his eyes, but Jennifer could see the faintest red flush on his face.

‘I don’t – God, now I remember why we lost contact.’

‘Ow, _harsh,_ Anderson. Don’t attack me ‘cause I’m right.’

Another pause. Hank downed his drink.

‘… And so what if you _are_ right, hm? He’s an _android._ ’

‘So? Androids and humans have been together as long as androids have existed,’ said Jennifer.

‘Not million-dollar, state-of-the-art detective androids and washed-up, old assholes,’ replied Hank.

‘How do you know? He seemed pretty possessive of you today.’ Jennifer raised her eyebrows and Hank just seemed to sink back into the booth they were sitting in, looking very much like he hoped the ground would swallow him whole.

‘You barely spoke to him,’ muttered Hank, and Jennifer shrugged.

‘Call it a woman’s intuition. Or whatever,’ she waved her hand, ‘but he seemed _jealous._ ’ Hank perked up ever so slightly at that – Connor had seemed jealous, so much so that he’d even asked him about it on the way home.

‘It’s probably just ‘cause he’s not used to me having any other friends.’ Hank tried to explain away the jealousy in any other way, but Jennifer was not buying it.

‘Sure, bajillion-dollar android doesn’t understand that people have multiple friends. Sounds reasonable.’ Jennifer hit Hank with a harsh stare, and he felt frozen on the spot. ‘Except it doesn’t sound reasonable at all.’

‘Jen…’

‘Come on, Hank. You’re a nice guy, a _good guy._ And you’ve been so good to him, why wouldn’t he have a crush on you?’ Jennifer asked. Hank slammed a hand down on the table and gestured to himself with the other.

‘Because I’m _this,_ Jen, and he’s…’ Hank trailed off into silence, and Jennifer smirked.

‘A _hottie?_ ’ she asked, and it seemed to break the tension enough for Hank to relax slightly.

‘Still not sayin’ it,’ he replied.

‘And you know what, you’re a hottie too, Hank Anderson. You’ve still got it,’ Jennifer remarked, and Hank raised both his eyebrows and stared at her.

‘Sure.’

‘Hey, I’d jump your bones if you didn’t have a hottie waiting for you at home,’ Jennifer said, glancing at her watch. ‘You should go.’

‘What? Why?’ asked Hank.

‘Go and get yourself some android dick!’ she exclaimed, perhaps too loud for the relative quiet of the bar. Hank flushed a darked red and brought a hand to his face.

‘Christ, Jen…’ Hank muttered, and Jennifer laughed small and laid her hands on the table.

‘Maybe not _dick_ on the first night but go get _something._ Put that hottie out of his misery.’ Jennifer went to stand, and Hank did the same. He looked downtrodden and almost defeated, but it was only because someone he hadn’t seen for over a decade had managed to hit the nail on the head as far as his personal life was concerned. Jennifer went in for the hug first, and Hank brought his arms around her as well. It had been good to catch up, even if the feelings swirling in his stomach didn’t suggest it. Jennifer pulled back and brought her hands up to Hank’s bearded face, holding either side of it.

‘Now where are you going?’ she asked. Hank raised an eyebrow. ‘To get that hottie. C’mon, say it, speak it into existence. Where are you going?’

Hank said nothing. Jennifer tugged at his beard, making him wince.

‘ _To get that hottie,_ Christ, Jen.’ Jennifer patted the side of his face and lowered her hands, giving a little laugh. Hank rolled his eyes but gave a small, lopsided smile nonetheless.

‘Goodnight, Hank,’ said Jennifer, and Hank pulled back and put his hands in his pockets.

‘G’night, Jen.’ Hank replied, and Jennifer waved as she left the bar and headed home. Hank stood there for a few more moments before heading to the bar, ordering another whiskey.

He was going to need it if he was going to do this tonight.

* * *

Connor is about to go into stasis on the couch when the door opens. He bolts upright and scans immediately, but upon realising it’s Hank he relaxes slightly. Only slightly, because with the thoughts that had been running through his head that night, there was no way he could relax fully around the lieutenant. Not now, maybe not ever. How was their life going to work now? Connor would have to move out and –

‘Hey, Connor.’ Hank breaks the silence, but his voice sounds different than Connor had been expecting. For one, Hank usually came home from nights out far drunker than this. Connor was disappointed as his brain constructed an image of Hank keeping himself relatively sober for a date. But there was something more in his tone, a reservedness that Connor couldn’t quite place.

‘Hello, Hank… how was your evening?’ Connor asks. Hank wanders over to his chair and sits down, rubbing at his face.

‘It was good,’ Hank says, but the pause in his voice has Connor sitting up a little straighter.

‘… It sounds like you have something more to say, Hank,’ Connor prods slightly, and Hank looks up at him, his eyebrows dipped.

‘I…’ Hank pauses again and looks up at Connor, looks up into those big, brown eyes and he can barely handle it. ‘Connor, I… I gotta talk to you.’ Connor seems concerned at the notion, but he sits forward anyway. Hank moves from the chair to the couch which Sumo has long since vacated, sitting in the spot across from Connor, leaving some space between them.

‘About what, Hank?’ Connor asks.

‘I just… I have to ask. Were you… _jealous_ of Jen?’ he asks. Connor’s LED whirred an abrupt yellow, and he turned his head slightly to shield it from Hank’s view.

‘I… I do not know,’ Connor replies, and it’s closer to the truth than he was really prepared to admit. Hank seems to know this, and his eyebrows dip a little.

‘Connor…’ Hank says, in that low, grumbled tone that makes Connor fess up almost immediately.

‘I – alright, yes, I was jealous!’ His LED flashes red for the briefest second before he calms down, placing a hand on his thirium pump regulator and centring himself once more. ‘I am sorry, Hank. It won’t happen again.’

‘Connor, why were you jealous?’ Hank asks again, and he feels bad that he’s putting the onus on Connor to put these pieces together, but he’s rusty and nervous and still a little confused himself. Connor seems like his processors are firing as fast as they can, but nothing comes out for a few moments.

‘I…’

Hank blinks and instinctively puts a hand out closer to Connor. It’s a small gesture but one which has Connor feeling as if he wants to reach out and grab Hank’s hand. He doesn’t, for now.

‘Hank, I…’

‘It’s okay, Connor. You can…’ Hank sighs, and glances down. ‘You can say what you’re feeling, because…’ _Jesus fucking Christ,_ Hank thinks, _I’m really doing this. This is really happening._

‘Because…’ Connor urges him on, and Hank clenches the fist that’s on the couch.

‘Because I think I feel the same, alright?’ Hank’s voice is uncharacteristically soft, and it makes Connor’s LED whir a brilliant blue.

‘… You… you think that you’re… attracted to me?’ Connor is the first one to actually say something of concrete substance, and he half expects Hank to laugh and say that _of course_ that’s not how he feels. But he doesn’t. He just scoots closer to Connor and keeps his gaze on his face.

‘I don’t _think_ so. I _know_ so.’

That in itself is enough for Connor to entirely close the gap between them, because that’s what he _feels_ he should do. Connor isn’t very good at acting on his feelings or on his instinct yet, but he’s getting better. He decides that now is as good a time as any to start showing initiative on that front.

‘I think I know so too,’ Connor replies, and Hank gives a soft chuckle.

‘You _think_ you know?’ he asks. Connor is about to open his mouth to protest, but Hank stops him by putting a hand on his arm. ‘Don’t worry. I’m just teasin’ you.’

‘Oh. Of course,’ Connor says, and fort he first time in this whole conversation he cracks a small smile. It’s one of Hank’s favourite things about Connor, but he feels currently like he wants to kiss that smile right off that perfect face. Hank is the one worried about mind reading now as Connor sits up so their faces are mere inches from each other.

‘I’ve found I’d really like to kiss you, Hank. Can I –‘

And before Connor can even get his sentence out, Hank is leaning forward and kissing him, _really_ kissing him. His huge hands come up to cradle Connor’s jaw, his thumbs stroking gently at his cheeks as their lips move. Connor is trying valiantly, and while it’s not the most skilful kiss that Hank’s ever had, it quickly solidifies itself as one of his very favourites. Connor’s hand moves to Hank’s waist, and –

‘ _Boof!’_

Sumo throws himself up on both Connor’s and Hank’s laps, unfamiliar and therefore unhappy at their entanglement. Hank scoots back reluctantly to let the massive dog sit between them, panting happily now that they are disengaged from one another.

‘Geez, Sumo…’ Hank remarks, ‘You’re gonna have to get used to that, buddy.’

Connor blushes a faint blue again as he sinks his hand into Sumo’s fur.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, so I hope you enjoyed my first DBH fic! It's about my favourite boys who I love very much. This isn't my definitive idea of how they got together but it was a plot that was stuck in my head that I needed to write! Jealous!Connor might be one of my faves. Until next time, you can find me @andersondroid on tumblr!


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